Seasonal Ontario Food

Last year at this time I made Brussels Sprouts Purée.

Beet salad with no fruit or nuts or cheese; is that even possible, never mind legal? Apparently!  Without those things this is a light accompaniment to other things rather than the star of the show. However, it does that well, being light, refreshing and simple to do. 

Our beets seem to have survived the early summer difficulties in the garden and there are now quite a few looking very good. I'll be looking for more things to do with them.

4 to 6 servings

1 hour to cook the beets
20 minutes to make the salad


Cook the Beets:
450 grams (1 pound) beets

Wash the beets and put them in a pot with plenty of water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and boil gently, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour, until tender. Drain and let cool. This can be done a day ahead.

Make the Dressing:
the juice of 1/2 large lemon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons sunflower seed oil OR olive oil

Put everything in a small bowl or jam jar and whisk or shake until well blended.

Make the Salad:
1 medium large red onion
2/3 cup finely chopped parsley
2/3 cup finely chopped celery leaves

Peel and chop the onion, fairly finely. Salt it and leave it in a strainer to drain as you prepare the rest of the salad.

Peel and dice the cooked, cooled beets. Put them in a salad bowl. Wash, dry and chop the parsley and celery leaves. Add them. Rinse the onions and drain them well, and add them to the salad.

Toss the salad with the dressing.




Last year at this time I made Vegetable-Laden Grilled Cheese. 

I'm not sure this is a recipe so much as notice that if you are growing chervil (about the only way to get any, I'm afraid) it goes very well with beets. The last of last year meets the first of this year. I have pretty much given up on trying to grow celery, and have started just planting some herb (leaf) celery. I tend not to use it much  the first year, but make good use of it the following spring before it bolts. 

2 to 4 servings
1 hour 20 minutes - 20 minutes prep time


3 to 4 (500 grams; 1 pound) beets
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh chervil
a little chopped celery leaves, if available

Cook the beets, either by covering them generously with water and boiling for 40 minutes to an hour, until tender; or by wrapping them in foil and roasting them at 375°F for 40 minutes to an hour, until tender. Cool and peel.

Chop or slice the beets into your preferred size and shape. Toss them with the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Let rest for 15 minutes to half an hour, then wash, trim, and chop the chervil and celery leaves, and toss them in just before serving.




Last year at this time I made Scotch Egg Pie.

This salad is all over the internet; it is in fact a traditional Russian salad although this particular iteration seems to come from a cook book called Please to the Table. Some cooks claim there are no prunes in a Russian beet salad; others confirm that that is how it was made in their family. We thought it was really delightful, and the prunes are what make it not just another beet salad, although they were surprisingly subtle.

Leftover kept quite well until the next day. I wouldn't keep it longer than that, and it wasn't any issue anyway.

4 to 8 servings
1 1/4 hours to cook the beets
30 minutes to assemble the salad


Cook the Beets:
500 grams (1 pound; 3 large) beets

Wash the beets and wrap them in foil, and bake them at 375°F for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until soft. If you prefer, they could be put in a pot with plenty of water to cover them, and boiled for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender. Let them cool. This can be done up to a day in advance.

Make the Dressing & Salad:
125 grams (1/4 pound; 16 to 18) prunes
1 tablespoon brandy OR rum
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sour cream OR thick yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
100 grams (3 ounces; 1 cup) walnut pieces

Cut the prunes into 6 or 8 pieces each, and soak them in a little tepid water for 10 to 15 minutes unless they are already very soft and moist. Drain (if soaked) then sprinkle them with the brandy or rum and let them sit another 10 or 15 minutes to absorb it.

Meanwhile, peel and mince the garlic. Mix it in a mixing bowl with the lemon juice, sour cream or yogurt, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.

Peel and grate the or finely dice the beets. Mix them into the dressing, along with the prunes. Chop the walnuts to a similar size as the beets and prunes, and mix most of them in - reserve a few (unchopped) for garnish if you like.

Refrigerate the salad for at least an hour to several hours, and bring it back up to room temperature before serving.





 Last year at this time I made Ater Kik Wot (Dried Pea Stew)

Horseradish with beets is classic, and also with cucumbers which also go really well with beets. As does caraway. How have I not put them all together before? Anyway, here they are with some lettuce which fits in with the crowd very well.

Winter salads! They can be done. And for once, I managed something decorative that was not a big nuisance to eat. I'm slow but I get there.

4 to 6 servings
about 1 hour to cook the beets
20 minutes prep time for the salad


Cook the Beets:
250 grams (1/2 pound; 3 medium) beets
1 tablespoon sunflower OR olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Wash and wrap the beets in foil, and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until just tender, or wash the beets and put them in a pot with plenty of water to cover them, and boil them for 45 minutes to an hour, until just tender.

Let them cool enough to handle, then peel them and grate them. Toss them with the oil and vinegar, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and keep refrigerated until you make the salad, up to 24 hours later.

Make the Dressing:
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed, crushed
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (light is fine)
2 tablespoons sour cream OR yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Crush the caraway seed and mix it in a small bowl or container with the remaining ingredients; best to do this a bit in advance of assembling the salad to allow the flavours to blend. Horseradish is very much at your discretion, depending on how much you like it and how strong yours is.

Finish the Salad:
1 small onion, red or pink for preference
1/2 bunch greenhouse lettuce
3 or 4 greenhouse mini cucumbers

Peel and slice the onion thinly. Put it in a strainer and sprinkle it with salt. Let it drain while you assemble the rest of the salad. 

Wash and dry the lettuce. For best presentation, cut off the tips of the leaves and arrange them around the outside of a shallow serving bowl. Chop the remaining lettuce. Wash, trim and slice the cucumbers.

Rinse the onions and drain them very well. Mix them with the lettuce and spread them in the middle of the salad bowl. Arrange the beets and sliced cucumbers over them. Drizzle with the salad dressing; you may opt not to put it all on, but to pass some of it for people who like extra dressing.





Last year at this time I made Polish Dill Pickle Soup.

Beets and feta cheese are a very popular combination and when you throw in some lentils along with cabbage, nuts, and cranberries you have a complete meal. The sprouts gave it some greenery and crispness but they can be hard to find these days. You could use micro-greens or even just hydroponic lettuce shredded up fairly finely instead.

As usual, very easy and quick to put together once you have done the advance cooking which is very easy too, just not so quick. No problem to cook the beets and lentils a day in advance if that is helpful.

2 to 6 servings
allow 1 hour plus cooling time for the beet and lentils
20 minutes prep time to assemble the salad


Cook the Lentils & Beet:
1/2 cup brown or green lentils
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 large beet

Put the lentils into a rice cooker with the water and salt; turn on and cook. Let cool. (If you cook lentils some other way, or use tinned ones, you will need about 1 1/2 cups, well drained.)

Put the beet into a small but deep pot and cover with water generously. Bring to a boil and boil steadily for about 45 minutes, until tender. Drain and let cool.

Make the Dressing:
the juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons walnut or hazelnut oil

Squeeze out the lemon juice and strain out any seeds. Put it in a small bowl or jam jar and whisk or mix with the remaining ingredients.

Make the Salad:
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated or finely chopped red cabbage
1 1/2 to 2 cups sprouts or micro-greens
1 small head Belgian Endive
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Peel the beet and coarsely grate it. Wash, trim, and coarsely grate the cabbage. Mix them with the well-drained lentils in a mixing bowl.

Wash the sprouts and drain them very well. Pull them into little clumps and mix them into the salad. Wash, trim, and chop the endive and mix it in. Arrange the salad on a flattish salad dish or platter, and sprinkle the chopped walnuts, crumbled feta cheese, an cranberries over it.

Drizzle the salad with the dressing and serve.




Last year at this time I made Cocoa Crepes. Wow, was that just a year ago? I've made them several times since then and they are good. They are even on my new diet!

Isn't it pretty!? It looks so like spring. Unlike the great outdoors. If we were a little further along in the season, the onion could be replaced with some finely chopped chives, which would be even prettier, although just as tasty either way I would think.

Other than the need to cook the beets in advance, this is as simple a little salad as they come. The proportions given will serve one person, maybe 2 if you have light eaters. It is fairly substantial in comparison to its apparent volume. Scale it up according to how many people you are serving.This can be made a little in advance and leftovers, if well covered and refrigerated, will be not quite as good the next day, but respectable, which is more than you can say for most salads.

per 1 or 2 servings
15 minutes prep time


1 small cooked beet
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 small greenhouse cucumber
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 teaspoons dill pickle brine OR 1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash however many beets you like and put them in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil for 40 minutes, until tender. Check the water and add more from a boiling kettle if it gets too low. Let them cool; this can be done a day in advance.

Chop the onion finely and put it in a sieve with a sprinkle of salt. Let it drain until you are ready for it.

Peel the beets and chop them. Wash, trim, and chop the cucumber. Rinse and drain the onion well. Mix the vegetables in a small bowl.

Add the sour cream, brine or lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix gently but well and serve.





Last year at this time I made Oatmeal Farls (Soda Bread).

Beets are best friends with just about any kind of fruit that there is; the strong earthy flavour contrasting and supporting the tart acidity of fruit, and the sweetness of both intermingling. Juicy lettuce, slightly bitter Belgian endive, and the crunch of nuts make for a very well-rounded salad. Yes, the mango comes from away, but sometimes you just gotta. 

2 to 4 servings
15 minutes prep time plus 1 hour to cook beets


Cook the Beets:
2 or 3 medium beets

Wash them and trim off any stems, but don't cut the roots. Put them in a pot with water to cover them generously, and bring them to a boil. Boil them for 40 minutes to an hour, until easily pierced with a fork. Drain them and let them cool.

Make the Salad:
3 cups torn-up hydroponic lettuce
1 large head Belgian endive
1 large ripe mango
1/3 cup chopped nuts of your choice

Wash and tear up (or chop) the lettuce and the endive. Mix them in the salad bowl.

Peel the beets and cut them in slices; arrange them over the greens. Peel the mango and cut two thick slices off along each flat side of the pit, which face the two wider sides of the mango. Cut them into smaller slices, and slice off the remaining mango flesh from the pit. Discard the pit and arrange all the mango slices over the salad. Sprinkle the salad with the chopped nuts.

Make the Dressing:
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons walnut or other nut oil
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Grind the anise and coriander seeds, and put them in a small bowl or jam jar with the salt and pepper. Add the nut oil, lemon juice, and mustard. Stir or shake until well blended. Drizzle over the salad.





Last year at this time I made Apples Baked in Lemon-Anise Custard.

This was a nice, simple salad. Sweet onions are on their last legs, but hopefully there are still a few around. Apply the Aleppo pepper and lemon juice with a fairly heavy hand, as the beets and carrots will cheerfully absorb it. 

6 to 8 servings
1 hour to cook beets; 20 minutes assembly time


Make the Salad:
3 cups peeled diced cooked beets
3 cups peeled diced cooked carrots
1 sweet onion
1 cup loosely packed chopped parsley

Cook the beets by trimming them and covering them in water, and boiling them until tender; 45 minutes to an hour. They could also be wrapped in foil and baked at 350°F for an hour to an hour and a half, until tender. Let cool, peel, and dice.

The carrots should be peeled and diced, then cooked in boiling water for 5 to 8 minutes, until done to your liking. Run them under cold water to cool and drain well.

Peel and chop the onion. Wash and chop the parsley.

Mix the beets, carrots, onions, and parsley in a bowl.

Make the Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper
the juice of 1 large lemon

Measure the oil into a small bowl or jam jar. Add the salt, pepper, and Aleppo pepper and mix well. Squeeze the lemon juice and add it.

Toss the salad in the dressing.

If you want the salad to sit for a while before it is eaten, keep the parsley out of it and add it just before serving to keep it crisp.





Last year at this time I made Pasta & Broccoli with Goat Cheese & Croutons. 

Red Flannel Hash is a fine old tradition, but I thought I would make a salad of it. On the way I wandered through a number of Russian salad recipes involving beets and potatoes, and took counsel from them.

I was really very pleased with the final result. It is almost - almost - worth the hassle of cooking the beets and potatoes in advance. If you had some other reason to cook beets or potatoes the day before I think it would bring it right over the line. 

4 to 8 servings
1 hour pre-cooking
20 minutes final prep time


Advance Cooking:
2 medium beets
2 medium potatoes

In - I regret to inform you - separate pots, place the washed beets and the potatoes and cover them generously with water. Bring them to a boil and boil until tender. For the potatoes, that will be about 15 to 20 minutes. The beets will likely take 45 minutes to an hour; check the water level when you turn off the potatoes and add more if they are running low.

Cool both the cooked potatoes and the cooked beets. These can be cooked a day in advance, particularly the beets. 

Make the Salad:
1 small onion
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1 cup thawed frozen peas, optional
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6 tablespoons mayonnaise, light is fine
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon horseradish
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel the cold beets and cut them in fairly fine dice; put them in a mixing bowl. Peel the potatoes if you like, and dice them likewise, and put them in the mixing bowl.

Peel and mince the onion. You can throw it right in, or if you prefer, salt it and let it sit in a strainer while you prepare the rest of the salad to make it milder and more digestible.

Wash, peel, and grate the carrot. Wash, trim, and finely shred the red cabbage. Into the bowl they go, with the peas if you are using them.

Add the vinegar, mayonnaise and horseradish. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well; taste; adjust seasonings and mix again. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and, er, serve. (Or keep it in the fridge until wanted.)





Last year at this time I made Cucumber Waldorf Salad.

This is a lovely, simple dish, if a little on the rich side. The final preparation to serve the dish is minimal; it's cooking the beets in the first place that takes the time. It can be done in advance though.

I have visions of cutting the beets with a tiny heart-shaped cookie cutter and serving this at Valentine's day, but I try to ruthlessly suppress the urge for such forays into twee-ness, so it is unlikely to happen. Still, this would be a good thing for Valentine's day.

On the other hand you will need to be a bit careful about what else is served with it. This is a dish that will not, in spite of - or perhaps because of - how sweet and charming it is, get along with many other dishes. We agreed plain chicken or fish with a green vegetable, or perhaps the other direction altogether - I think this would be surprisingly good with a nice curry.

I can see the cold leftovers being incorporated into a salad - tossed with hydroponic lettuce and sliced greenhouse strawberries, and tossed with light lemon vinaigrette. 

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time
(final prep is about 20 minutes)


500 grams (1 pound; 3 or 4 medium) beets
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup coarse unsweetened dessicated coconut
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
2 to 3 tablespoons light cream
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash the beets and put them in a pot with plenty of water to cover them. Bring to a boil and boil steadily until tender; 40 minutes to an hour. Let cool. This can be done the day before.

Alternatively, wash them and wrap them in foil, and roast them at 375°F for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender.

This can be done the day before.

Peel the beets and dice them. Meanwhile, put the butter into a medium-sized skillet with the dessicated coconut. Add the beets once they are prepared. Let everything cook together until hot through, stirring regularly - 5 to 10 minutes.

Chop the candied ginger and add it to the beets. Dribble in a little cream, stirring to coat the beets. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring frequently, until the cream is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Lumpiang Hubad - Naked Springrolls.

I'm always such a sucker for a fancy presentation. There's no question, it can be very nice! I will also admit that such presentations usually take extra time and fiddling on the part of the cook, and tend to make things harder to eat. This one certainly fits that pattern.

The stacks consist of layers of firm (beets), crunchy (apples), and smooshy (cheese). This is a slightly tricky combination to cut, and I suggest you supply each diner with a steak knife to best approach these.

There is also a lot of "waste" from these, because you will have the trimmings from the stacks themselves, as well as bits of the apple and beets which were not suitable for cutting into 2" or larger rings. Don't throw that away! Chop it all up a bit and toss it together with any leftover cheese and marinade; put it back in the fridge and serve it in little scoops on mixed greens tomorrow as a more informal salad. Of course, if you can't be bothered with cutting your salad into fancy stacks at all, you could do that with the whole lot in the first place.

And now it's time to take a break for Christmas... we are up to 11 here this year so it will be a very full house and lots to do. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. I hope all my readers have good holidays, and best wishes to you all for a happy new year.  

4 to 6 servings
30 minutes prep time
 - not including cooking or marinating the beets


Cook & Marinate the Beets:
2 to 3 large beets (about 500 grams; 1 pound)
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, ground
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
the juice of 1 large orange, minus 3 tablespoons set aside

Cook the beets in plenty of water to cover until tender; given that you want to use quite large beets expect it to take somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour. Drain and cool enough to handle. Peel them and slice them a scant 1/4" thick.

Mix the ground rosemary, orange zest and orange juice in a coverable container. Add the beet slices, gently moving them to be as covered in orange juice as possible. Cover them and set them aside for an hour. They can also be put in the refrigerator and kept until the next day.

Make the Salad:
150 grams (5 ounces) soft goat cheese (chèvre)
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon rich milk or light cream
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, ground
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 or 2 large apples (same diameter as the beets)
about 2 cups mixed salad greens
parsley or walnut halves to garnish

Put the goat cheese in a small mixing bowl, and mix in the orange juice and cream to make a light, spreadable but not runny mixture. Mix in the rosemary, orange zest, salt, and pepper.

Wash the apple(s) and cut into scant 1/4" slices. Cut out the cores.

Stack the slices of beet and apple, spreading about a teaspoon of the cheese mixture into a 2" circle in the middle of each slice as you go. I found 3 slices of beet with 2 slices of apple worked well. You should start and finish with a slice of beet - the apple is inclined to break when cut, so it's better inside. Don't spread cheese on the top slice.

Cut the finished stacks with a good sturdy, sharp, 2" biscuit cutter. Be sure to centre it well and press down gently and evenly. When the biscuit cutter has made it down to the cutting board all around, use a knife to trim away the cut off bits. Lift the stack, with the cutter still around the base, and press gently up to remove it from the cutter. Place it on a bed of salad greens, either on a serving platter or on individual serving dishes. Garnish with a sprig of parsley or a walnut half held in place with a dab of cheese. Repeat with the remaining slices of beet and apple, and the cheese.

We always have a vegetarian at the table for Christmas dinner, so I always have to come up with at least one dish that is reasonably festive and suitable for them. And of course, everyone else will want to try it too.

Wheat gluten, sold as vital wheat gluten or gluten flour, is the protein part of wheat with the starch removed. In the old days you had to rinse it out yourself and it was a bit of a chore. Now, you can buy it ready to go. Like bread, the sausage mixture should be kneaded until the gluten forms strands and becomes smooth and a bit rubbery; it's these strands that give the result a meat-like texture. It can be hard to cook these gluten based mixtures so they aren't dry; a lot of recipes add beans, tofu, or vegetables to keep them moist. Good tasting yeast is often added because it has a distinctly chicken-like flavour, especially when combined with the right herbs.

It's both a nuisance and a benefit that these are best cooked in advance, then fried to reheat them and put a nice crisp finish on them. It makes them a bit of a project, but the final cooking is fast and easy and not too much work at the last moment.

It took me a couple of tries to get these satisfactory, and we have been enjoying them cut up into slices, fried and then put in tomato sauce, and served over pasta. I tried forming some into cutlets, which gives you lots of crispy surface but the soft, sausagey interior seems odd that way. We prefer them sausage shaped. Patties might be more convincing, and would be good on a bun.

8 to 12 servings
1 hour 20 minutes - 40 minutes prep time - plus 15 minutes to fry
 - but not including 1 hour to soak the lentils


1 cup red lentils
1/4 cup dried tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
boiling water
1 cup grated carrot
2 cups grated (raw) beets
4 to 6 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup good tasting yeast
1/3 cup chick pea flour
4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 cup mild vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup gluten flour

Put the red lentils, dried tomatoes, and salt into a glass or ceramic mixing bowl (which will hold the heat better than metal or plastic) and pour boiling water over them to cover generously. Cover the bowl and let sit for 1 hour.

Wash, peel, and trim the carrots and beets. Grate and measure them into the bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients except the gluten flour, and process until well blended. Add the drained lentils and tomatoes, and process again. The mixture should be fairly smooth but with some texture to it; quite a bit like actual sausage meat.

Turn the mixture out into a mixing bowl, and stir the gluten flour in by hand. Turn the mixture out onto a clean, dry counter top or sheet of parchment and knead for a few minutes. It will be fairly sticky, but should form a soft but cohesive ball.

Cut the mixture into 8 to 12 equal portions. Form them into "sausages" and roll them up in pieces of parchment paper, folding over the ends to make a neat packet. Steam them for 40 to 45 minutes, until firm to the touch.

To serve, fry the sausages in oil until brown on all sides and serve hot.

These can be frozen, or will keep in the fridge for up to a week before being fried.




Last year at this time I made Fresh Raw Cranberry Orange Relish.